Twisn't The Season
by Princess Pinky
Summary: Claudia is forced to spend her first holiday at The Warehouse since Myka's resignation, so Fargo decides it's the perfect time to show up and spread a little festive Eureka cheer.


**A/N:** I haven't written a Clargo fic in a while and Tuesday's holiday specials inspired me to write one.

_**Twisn't The Season**_

Douglas Fargo rolled his head back on his shoulders, trying to see all the way up to the top of The Warehouse. He hadn't been at the base of that ginormous building since the disastrous incident with Hugo Miller and the computer upgrade and of course the devastating revelation that his dream geek, Claudia Donovan, was in love with some jerk that she _kind of_ dated named Todd.

Thinking of Claudia, he hadn't seen her – in person that is – since she visited Eureka shortly thereafter, to pick up for nullifying artifact goo from Global Dynamics, where he'd discovered she and _Todd_ were over and they'd nearly made out in the minefield, had it not been for Jack Carter. It still made Fargo curse just thinking about it.

But they had kept in touch, via text message and e-mail and webcam and pretty much anything electronic, save a Farnsworth, because there was nothing that Claudia could say or do to get that crotchety old man that Claudia called her boss to allow her to give him one. This was also how he knew all the going ons at The Warehouse since he'd been there, including that Claudia had both reconciled with Todd and broken up with him again, that H.G. Wells – who was a woman, surprise, surprise – had nearly destroyed the world, and that Claudia's big sister figure, Myka, had resigned and left The Warehouse.

All in all, he'd figured it was a good time for a surprise visit. The enthusiasm and clever quips that always accompanied Claudia's messages had disappeared as of late, replaced with a numbing depression that chilled Fargo right down to the marrow every time he saw her face on his computer screen. He knew there was only one perfect gift for Claudia this year and it sure as the dreaded South Dakota cold wasn't the one that topped the stack of presents in his arms. But, it was better than nothing.

Fargo slushed around in the knee deep snow as he noticed a few stray flakes suddenly hit his glove and melt into the fabric. With his arms full, he couldn't knock, and with all the snow, he couldn't kick, so he chose to press his stack against the wall of The Warehouse and hold them with one arm, while he used his other to bang wildly on the door.

In the blink of an eye, the sky seemed to fade to white and snowflakes were falling down as though someone deity above was shaking them out of a salt shaker above the Earth. Just when he thought he was going to have to trudge all the way back to his vehicle with the gifts, he heard a loud metal groan, followed by the snarlings of the old geezer in glasses.

"_You!"_ Artie hissed, pointing his finger in Fargo's face, nearly swatting his Rudolph red nose like a naughty puppy's. "Shouldn't you be destroying computer systems in your own town?"

Fargo grit his teeth and managed to slide a gift out from the middle of the pile without toppling them all into the snow. Silently, he thanked whatever powers that be for his sick Jenga skills, and proceeded to shove the gift into Artie's chest. "Hugo sends his best," he replied in his best non-irate voice and used the old man's momentary distraction to skirt around him into The Warehouse.

Artie fumbled with the gift for a few moments, a brief half smile coming to his face, before he realized Fargo was wandering off. With a loud growl, he shut the door and chased him down. "Just where do you think you're going!"

"To find Claudia. You didn't think I was here for you, did you?"

Artie gave him an even deeper scowl that Fargo didn't know was possible. "She's busy."

"Doing what?"

"She just is."

"I doubt that."

"You don't know anything," Artie huffed, still scowling. "You should leave."

Tired – and on the brink of saying something he'd probably regret, given all the artifacts Artie had at his disposal – the GD Head leaned against the side of the umbilicus and looked around the stack, padlocking eyes with the gray haired Grinch. "Look," he said flatly. "I know you despise me with every fiber of your Scrooge incarnate being, but I really don't care right now. I'm here for Claudia, alright? I've seen her declining every since Agent Bering's resignation and I figured that showing up and at least_ trying_ to give her something else to think about for the holidays would be a good thing. You can do whatever you want to get me to leave, but I'm not going until I see her."

Artie's mouth closed and he seemed at a loss for words. The wrinkles around his eyes softened a bit and he fingered the bow on Hugo's present for a few moments, before he finally hung his head to avoid eye contact. "You're right," he agreed humbly. "I _don't_ like you."

Fargo released a breath. For a brief second, he thought he might have actually gotten through to the man, but apparently not.

"_But,"_ Artie interrupted Fargo's thoughts, "you're also right about Claudia. Things haven't been so great around here since Myka left, for any of us, but Claudia seems to be taking it the hardest…probably because she's had so many people in her life leave her already and this – this is probably the worst timing of all."

Fargo nodded. "I – I understand," he whispered. "And _I'm sorry_."

"She's in my office," Artie directed, pointing with his left index finger. "It's not exactly pretty in there, just so you know."

"Thanks." Fargo took a step forward, then held back. "You don't happen to know where Agent Lattimer and Leena are, do you?"

"Back at the Bed and Breakfast, why?"

Fargo smiled sheepishly and rattled his gifts. "I figured…everyone could use a little cheer, right?"

Artie glowered once more. "How many?"

"The blue one's for Agent Lattimer, the purple one is for Leena. And that large red one with the fancy golden bow, that's from our host and resident cook at Café Diem, Vincent. It's got a tasty little something for everyone, so he swears. And the two little ones right there, those are also from Mr. Miller, for Leena and Agent Lattimer."

"And the rest?"

"For Claudia. From Sheriff Carter, Allison, Hugo…and some of the GD staff. She made some friends when she visited. Tech stuff…you wouldn't understand."

Artie gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes before taking the gifts out of Fargo's arms, significantly lessening the younger man's load. "Just make sure you leave her better than you found her," he warned, with a cautionary glare over the top of his spectacles.

Fargo smiled behind his gift for Claudia as he continued down the umbilicus and paused until Artie had left, then he managed to twist the door handle and walk inside. To his dissatisfaction, it was dark and gloomy and smelt a bit like moldy fruitcake. "Claudia?" From the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow move in the corner of the room. Frowning, he dropped the presents onto Artie's cluttered desk and turned his full attention to the spot, where he saw his favorite redhead, pulled into a ball with only her head lifted, gaping at him.

"_Doug?"_

"Surprise!" he squeaked, flashing one of his signature awkward grins.

Claudia grasped the edge of the desk and pulled herself up. Although it was dark, it was obvious that her signature colored streak wasn't in her hair and the short bob itself was a mussed mess. As she flicked on the desk lamp, it revealed the sullen color of her face and the dark circles under her eyes, giving her a raccoon-like appearance. She hugged her waist and tried to smile, but failed miserably. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I thought you could use some company." He motioned to the gifts. "I bring season greetings from Eureka…"

Claudia flicked her eyes over the stack of gifts. "Thanks."

"You don't sound too happy." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and dithered back and forth.

"I just…" Claudia exhaled and shut her eyes. "I'm sorry, Doug. It's just been hard, lately. 'Twisn't exactly the season this year, ya know?"

Fargo scratched the back of his neck. "I know. That's why I came. I was, well, worried about you. I miss that old Claudia Spirit."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty bah humbug now. Sorry. And I'm sorry I keep saying that. Sorry. So-"

Fargo pressed the pad of his thumb to her lips. "I get it." Then he gently encircled her in a hug, for which he expected no return.

Several seconds after his arms locked around her, Claudia wriggled her hands around his waist and clasped them behind his back. She snuggled her head beneath his chin and closed her eyes, before taking a long drag of his jacket. "Ridonkulous!"

"Huh?"

Claudia opened her eyes and rolled them up as far as she could until she saw the shadow of her eyebrows. "You've been eating candy canes without me."

Fargo grinned. "Well why don't you open this up, then?" he suggested as he grabbed a gift from the pile.

Momentarily forgetting her woes, she gingerly accepted the gift from Fargo's gloved hands and peeled open the card. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Aw, Vince, I liked that guy. He had good chow." Like a child, she ripped back the paper, revealing a plate covered in plastic wrap, covered in homemade candy canes: the outer edge was decorated in classic white and red peppermint, while the middle was composed of a rainbow of specialty flavored canes. With a small squeal, she lifted the plastic wrap, pulled out a candy cane, and dutifully licked the end.

"Vincent will be glad to know all his hard work put that smile on your face."

"Are those _all_ for me?"

"Eureka misses you."

Her lips tugged back like opening drapes, but she kept the tip of the candy cane secured between the edge of her front teeth. Opening her mouth a little wider, she slipped her tongue out and licked up the side of the cane. "I miss Eureka too."

"You should come visit!"

A frown fell back to Claudia's face. "Pete and Artie and Leena and Mrs. F need me here." Bitterly she added, "We're under staffed."

Fargo snatched up another box and held it out to her. "This one's from Sheriff Carter," he explained merrily, attempting to change the subject. "Have a look-see!"

Biting the candy cane between her molars, she freed up her hands to skin the paper off the gift. As she pulls off the tissue paper and sees the folded gift, the candy cane slips from her teeth and lands squarely on the Santa Claus that is plastered on the front of the hideous holiday sweater the box. "_Carter_ sent this? I thought he knew me better than this…" Shaking her head, she pulled the sweater from the package to fully examine the horror and as the fabric unfolded, something slipped out and fluttered to the floor.

Fargo snickered and bent down, picking up the fallen object. With a wink, he held it out to her. "Here."

"What's this?"

"The _real_ gift."

Claudia squinted her eyes. "He tricked me?" At Fargo's shrug, she snatched up the object from Fargo's hand and opened the envelope. "Comic-Con tickets!" Her raised eyebrows turned to Fargo. "You had a hand in this, didn't you?"

"He may have asked me what you were into…"

"And you told him about your minefield fantasy?"

Fargo felt his cheeks heat up. "No…I just told him you have a freak flag that you like to fly there."

"You're too sweet." She stuffed the tickets into her pocket and then looked at the remaining gifts on the table. "Which one is from you, Fargonator?"

Fargo picked up the smallest one with the utmost care and placed it delicately into her hand. "I hope you like it, Tech Girl."

"Tech Girl?"

"Well," Fargo muttered. "You've got two nicknames for me and I don't have any for you."

"But _Tech Girl_? _Really?_"

"Hey! You called yourself 'Resident Tech Girl' the first time we met! And I…" he bobbled his head. "…thought it was cute."

"Tech Girl and Fargonator," Claudia tested out loud. She smirked. "Eh, I guess it's s'okay." She winked and then pulled out Artie chair to flop down. Childishly, she shook the little box next to her ear, but didn't hear anything, so she began to unwrap it, but unlike with the other gifts, she was careful to peel it back, leaving it as intact as possible. Beneath the wrapping she found a reflective metal box. When she dipped her fingers inside, she pulled out a very realistic looking strand of red hair. She inverted her brows. "You do realize I'm already a ginger, right?"

"Lemme see." Fargo snatched the hair piece from Claudia's fingers and smoothed her bob, before clipping it beneath her hair, so it looked as though she'd dyed strand of her very own hair. In fact, the color itself blended right in. Then he placed the lid back on the box. "Now, look."

"At what?"

"The box."

Confused, Claudia looked down at the box and saw her reflection staring back at her. Then, to her surprise, the hair piece changed color to a pine green. Claudia giggled. "That's cute."

"I designed it myself," Fargo grinned proudly.

"Not quite a MARA, but I'll take it." As she spoke, the hair piece again changed colors, this time to a vibrant magenta.

"It's got the entire color spectrum," Fargo announced proudly.

"Thanks, Doug," Claudia grinned. "Saves me money on hair dye or the trouble of changing clips. Is there a way to program it to just one color?"

"Yep. It's actually programmed to your thought patterns. There's a little chip on the clip and as long as it's touching your head, it'll pick up on what you want it to pick up on. So if you want a color-"

"I just think about it."

"Exactly."

"Like…blue." She cast her eyes to the top of the box and watched as the reflection showed the hair piece turn turquoise. "That is so awesome! It knows exactly what color I want, even if I'm not specific." She tossed her arms around Fargo's neck and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Actually," Fargo edged. "That's not all…" He nodded for her to look at the box again. "There's one other thing."

"Oh?"

"Open it."

"I didn't think there was anything else inside."

"Open it," he repeated slyly.

Curiously, Claudia took off the lid and looked inside, only to find her reflection on the bottom of the box. "It's empty."

"It's not." He pursed his lips. _"Myka."_

Claudia felt her eyes sting a bit and she closed them to block back the tears. "Doug-"

"_Look."_

In spite of herself, she opened her eyes and saw Myka's reflection in the bottom of the box. Her mouth opened a bit, frozen in surprise. "H-how?"

"Like I said, it's programmed to your thoughts. I designed the box so that it can project memories on the inside, like a television screen. I was dually inspired by Wertheimer's Zoetrope and some technology that Henry was working on."

"Redwood Guy?"

Fargo squinted. "Uh-"

"The guy who analyzed your materializing redwoods with me. That Henry?"

"Oh. Yes! Yes, exactly."

"So it…it plays back any memory I want? Any one I can think of and I can see it in high def just by looking inside this box."

"Exactly."

"_So, guys, this is the first time in ever that I actually have people in my life to spend the holidays with."_

"Hey!" Claudia grinned. "It's got sound too."

"Yeeeah," Fargo nodded nonchalantly. "I put a miniature speaker in there too."

Claudia watched merrily as images of the previous Warehouse Christmas played in the bottom of the box. The smile on her face grew, minute by minute. Then she finally lifted her head to Fargo. "This is…I can't even thank you enough for this, Doug."

"If I could've gotten back the real thing, I would have."

Claudia wiped her moist eyes with the back of her hand. Her hair piece then turned gold. "I'm sure you would have," she agreed with a sniff. "But this…this was _amazing_."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Not just like. I lust it. I love it. I am in love with it!" she beamed through painfully happy tears. "Hey," she grinned cheekily. "Wanna know what I'm thinking now?"

"Hmm?"

Claudia handed him the box and pursed her lips.

"_I guess up until now, Eureka was pretty cool."_

"_Hm. Well…if I have to go, I guess this isn't so bad."_

"_At least they'll say we went out with a bang!"_

Fargo's lips curved into a smile, mirror the one his reflection wore in the box as Claudia leaned into kiss him. "It's strange seeing this from your point of view." Just before Carter's interruption could break the moment, the image in the box changed to something Fargo didn't recognize. It was of Agent Bering and Agent Lattimer, as Myka crossed the room towards Pete with a cheerful look on her face.

"_Myka! Mmm…That's the original mistletoe…it is rather strong."_

Fargo arched his eyebrows. "Are you suggesting something here?"

"I don't know," Claudia replied, nipping at her lower lip. "Does it sound like I'm suggesting something?"

Fargo tilted his head back. "I don't see any mistletoe in here."

Claudia set the gift box down as her hair piece turned green again and then plucked it out of her hair. She dangled it above her head. "Does this work?"

Fargo slid his arms around Claudia's slim waist. "I wouldn't have it any other way…" He tilted his head down, meeting the redhead's hungry candy cane flavored lips. As they kissed, he heard the telltale sound of Artie's office door locking. With a questioning look, they pulled apart just enough to leave a half an inch of space between their faces.

"How about a Christmas bang for your buck?"

"I know that was supposed to sound cute, but it actually sounds kinda dirty."

"Who said it was supposed to sound cute?" she smirked.

"Artie'll kill us. _Well,_ he'll kill _me_."

"Come on! You can't honestly tell me you don't want to tech up Artie's desk, can you? And by 'tech up' I mean-"

"Well," Fargo meandered, "I am supposed to leave you better than I found you…but he didn't say anything about his office…"

"That settles it then," Claudia replied. "I'm about to make your holiday as happy as you just made mine!" She slid her hair piece back into her hair and flicked off the lights, drowning the office in darkness. The hair piece in her hair then began to glow a vibrant red, illuminating only Claudia's and Fargo's faces in a festive glow as they came together for another _very_ merry kiss.


End file.
